Late last night in the House of Lords, sparks flew. For an hour, nine Peers fired a ceaseless volley of questions on extraordinary rendition to Lord Triesman, the parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Foreign Office: Has the government given clearance to CIA rendition flights to land in the UK? Is it sufficient for the Government to simply assert, rather than demonstrate, their adherence to the UN Convention Against Torture? What role did MI6 play in the rendition and torture of Binyam Mohamed?

Annoyed, Lord Triesman dismissed the questions and in turn accused his questioners of adhering to conspiracy theories. The UK has done nothing to be ashamed about, he said. He concluded by throwing down a gauntlet: "All noble Lords who wish to pursue this matter further should provide far more tangible evidence than the kind of allegations that we have heard."

There is deadlock. It has to be broken if there is to be any progress.

The first question that needs a clear answer is whether the UK supports the US practice of sending people to other countries for detention and questioning. If not, this should be made explicit. The decision should then be taken as to whether the UK should assist the US in carrying out such a policy. This will involve consideration of the legal point that to assist may put the UK in breach of domestic and international obligations.

Second, the government should provide more information about the previous instances when it granted permission for the US to carry out renditions through the UK. Lord Triesman reminded Peers yesterday that in 1998, two individuals were transferred through the country in order to stand trial in the US. What happened to them? Did they stand trial? Were they found guilty? Where are they now? It seems reasonable to assume that, had the individuals been found to be terrorists guilty of, say, the USS Cole bombing, the government would have lost no time in saying so. But there's been silence. All that's known is that they were transferred.

Third, the government needs to come clean about its role in the rendition of the UK residents Bisher Al-Rawi, Jamil El-Banna, and Binyam Mohamed. These matters are going to be considered by the parliamentary intelligence and security committee, but there should also be an open debate about how UK intelligence services work with foreign services: should they provide information to interrogators if it's likely that the interrogation will involve torture? Should they pass details on to the US when it is likely that it will lead to a rendition?

Consistent pressure from parliament, the press and human rights organisations has ensured that extraordinary rendition has stayed high on the agenda. That pressure should now intensify and focus on reaching two specific goals: unequivocal condemnation of extraordinary rendition by the UK; and no support being given to the US in carrying out extraordinary rendition.